Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Decreases Holdings in Novartis AG $NVS

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 4.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,110,116 shares of the company’s stock after selling 414,278 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Novartis were worth $1,238,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Archer Investment Corp raised its position in Novartis by 93.0% in the 1st quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 425.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Novartis from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered Novartis from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novartis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.20.

Novartis Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NVS opened at $153.78 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.45. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $112.34 and a twelve month high of $170.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.69.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.44 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 24.87% and a return on equity of 38.82%. Novartis’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Novartis AG will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Novartis Company Profile

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The company’s activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.